Analyzing L1 Influence on the Acquisition of English Articles by Urdu Speakers: An Optimality Theoretic Account

Abstract

English and Urdu differ in the way they express definiteness. English encodes (in)definiteness through a, the and Ø. Urdu, on the other hand, relies mainly on quasi indefinite article ek to show indefiniteness but definiteness of a noun is expressed in a context in which the noun occurs, through word order and also with the help of thematic roles the noun plays in the argument structure. Keeping in mind the variations between the two languages, the main objective of the study is to examine the role of L1 along with other troublesome sources in the acquisition of English articles by Urdu L2ers of English. For this purpose, the data was collected from 41 undergraduates at Department of English in UAJ&K, comprising of two sets. The data set one was gathered in the form of 41 written composition and 10 speech production from the learners. For the second set of data, the same group of participant was tested via Master’s (1994) article diagnostic test with the interval of two years. Apace with, the learners’ improvement in general English proficiency during these years is measured employing different versions of the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Using Huebner’s (1983) classification system, the data set two was analyzed quantitatively. First, by employing MINITAB 14, the use of articles in different item/noun environments is investigated. Then, the sequence/order of article acquisition is determined with regard to the SOC (Supplied in Obligatory Contexts), TLU (Target Like Use), and UOC (Used in Obligatory Contexts) measures. The results of the first set of data report article errors as the most persistent problems in the writing and speech of Urdu L2ers of English. The study reveals L1 transfer effects as omission of a was less than the omission of the in the data. Whereas, the unnecessary insertion of the is viewed as an intralingual error. The results have spotted English generic context as the most problematic area of difficulty for the learners. The study finds the learners’ better performance in sentence level generics. For further details, the overgeneralization of the is observed with mass and plural nouns. The study puts forth that the learners associate the initially with [+SR] features instead of [-SR] features. Above all, (a > the > Ø) route of article acquisition is determined for Urdu L2ers of English. Finally, employing Optimality theoretic Syntax account, it is shown that learning the ranking of FDEF over *FunctN, and then of (Num)= ¯ SG – FunctN over *Def/[Fam] is hard to acquire by the learners.